Corkscrew



(K0 Model.)

C. T. WILLIAMSON.

GORKSGRBW. No, 274,589. Patented Mar.27,1883.

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UNIT D STATES CORNELIUS T. WILLIAMSON, OF NEVVABK, NEW JERSEY.

CORKSCREW.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 274,539, dated March 27, 1883.

Application filed December 8, 1882. (No model.)

To all whom tt may concern: a l

Be it known that I, CORNELIUS T. WILLIAM- SON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Newark, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Corkscrews and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The invention relates to an improvement in corkscrews and it consists in certain novel features embodied in that class of corkscrews in which the screw is pivoted in the meeting ends and folds between the sides of a springhandle.

My invention particularly relates to the construction of those parts of the handle between which the screw is pivoted, whereby the folding of the screw is facilitated, and to the form and construction of the other parts of the bandle, by which I present an effectual gripping surface and avoid any unpleasant compression of the hand while drawing the cork, and produce a handle which will have a strong tension against the shank of the screw. The details of construction and the particular advantages derived therefrom will be pointed out in the specific description hereinafter presented.

In the drawings, Figures 1 to 6 are plan views of corksorews of varied form embodying the invention, and Fig Tis a section on line :v m of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings, A denotes the handle, and B the screw, the latter being secured between the meeting ends of the former by a pivot, (3.

One part of my invention, which relates to the meeting ends of the handle, lettered a, is illustrated in all of the corkscrews shown. It consists essentially in providing the tapered or beveled surfaces b, against which the shank of the screw B bears while being either folded or opened. ends a are made concave, as indicated in Fig. 7, so as to snugly fit upon the shank of the screw, and the tapered portions 1) are formed by beveling the extreme side edges of these concave portions, substantially in the form and manner indicated in the drawings. The effect of the tapered portions 1) is to facilitate the movement of the corkscrew and to decrease The inner opposite faces of the the effort usually required to fold or open the same. It has been usualin this class of springhaudle corkscrews to leave the extremities of the ends ain squared form, and this construction is defective, in that when the screw is either folded into the handle or opened therefrom its shank must be forced to separate the meeting ends of the handle by entering and passing between two squared edges. By my invention the shank of the screw may be easily started between the edges of the meeting ends a, and thereby separate said ends without straining the screw or undue pressure of the hand. The tapered portions 1) at the lower extremity of the meeting ends a, I regard of greater importance, since'the taper at the upper extreme thereof might be formed in whole or in part by bending the sides of the handle outward on inclined planes from the shank of the screw. The taper at the upper extreme of the ends a is augmented in this manner in some degree.

The handles of the corkscrews illustrated are made of a single piece of metal bent into the forms shown, which forms are given the handles for purposes of convenience and comfort, enabling the user to readily draw the cork without injury to the hand. In Fig. 1 the two vertical sides of the handle are separated soas to permit the insertion of the finger between them, and the two concave portions d are formed on the under side of the handle adjacent to its ends, whereby room is made for two other fingers of thehand ofthe user. Thus in the device shown in Fig. 1 the handle may be firmly grasped by three fingers of the hand without crowding or undue compression.

' In Figs. 3, 5-, and 6 the handles shown are very much the same as that illustrated in Fig. 1, and will be readily understood without detailed explanation.

The handle shown in Fig. 4. is of specialim- Its form resembles that of a horseportance. shoe, the extremities e of the material being bent inward between the sides of the handle, as shown, and finished to receive the shank of the screw B in a manner similar to the like portions of the handles illustrated in the other figures. The handle shown in Fig. 4 may be readily grasped by the hand without injury, and it is durable and of convenient outline.

For the purpose of increasing the springtension of the handle of anyof the corkscrews shown in the accompanying drawings, and to render them more durable, and to present a surface upon which any name or other data may be stamped, I flatten certain portions or the whole of the handle, as indicated in Figs. 3, 5, and 6, wherein m denotes the flattened parts. die as I prefer and according to the rigidity I wish to impart to it. The handle or certain of its parts is flattened in line with the length of the implement, whereby the desired result is secured. The handles illustrated in Figs. 1 and 4 may of course be flattened in whole or in part, and the advantages resulting from such operation be thus imparted to the same.

WhatI claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

I shall flatten such parts of. the han- In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in 0 presence of two witnesses.

CORNELIUS T. WILLIAMSON.

Witnesses CHAS. O. GILL, HERMAN GUSTOW. 

